Marcela V. Maus, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’17-’18) at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, published results from her clinical trial with glioblastoma patients showing for the first time that CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T cells cross the blood-brain barrier to reach tumors and appeared to be safe. These CAR T cells were targeted to EGFR variant III in glioblastoma patients. Her lab is working on next steps such as combining CAR T cells with other drugs to increase the potency of this treatment to shrink tumor size. The results of this trial indicate that CAR T cell therapy is a viable option for treating glioblastoma. The study was published in Science Translational Medicine.

Read more about this research here.

This post was originally published by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. It is reprinted with permission.